Stella Maris College, Chennai
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Stella Maris College is an
institution of higher education Higher education is tertiary education leading to award of an academic degree. Higher education, also called post-secondary education, third-level or tertiary education, is an optional final stage of formal learning that occurs after completio ...
for women in
Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...
, India. It is an autonomous college affiliated to the
University of Madras The University of Madras (informally known as Madras University) is a public state university in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Established in 1857, it is one of the oldest and among the most prestigious universities in India, incorporated by an a ...
and is partly residential. The college, which is under the direction of the Society of the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary, is a minority institution. It has five hostels – Snehalaya, Our Lady's, Klemens, St. Josephs and Nava Nirmana.


Introduction

Beginning in a small one-storey building on 15 August 1947, with an enrollment of 32 students, the college has at present over 5,500 students housed in large buildings on the campus of "The Cloisters", Cathedral Road, Chennai. The college became autonomous in 1987 and has 19 undergraduate and 12 postgraduate programmes. Research programmes such as M.Phil, PhD, and postgraduate diploma courses are part of the academic curriculum.


History

The college is under the management of the Institute of the
Franciscan Missionaries of Mary , image = Mariadelapasion2.jpg , size = 175px , caption = Blessed Mary of the Passion foundress of the congregation , abbreviation = F.M.M , motto = , formation = , founder = Hélène de Chappotin(Sister ...
. It was founded on 15 August 1947 with an enrollment of 32 students in the intermediate class. Stella Maris was granted permanent recognition in 1951. The college has the unique credit of having initiated bachelor's degrees in Western Music and History of Fine Arts, as well as master's degrees in Social Work and Indian Music, at the University of Madras. Additionally, it was the first women's college in Madras to offer M.A. degree courses in English, economics, and fine arts. In 1960, the college moved from
Santhome Santhome is a locality in Mylapore in Chennai city (formerly Madras) in India. History The word ''Santhome'' or ''San Thome'' is derived from Saint Thomas. The tradition is that he was martyred in AD 72 at St.Thomas Mount in the city, and was ...
to a more spacious campus, "The Cloisters", Cathedral Road, Chennai. The following few decades saw tremendous growth and development in the college with several firsts and distinctions. The college was one of the few chosen to start the pilot project of the National Service Scheme in 1968. A spacious library was erected on the occasion of the Silver Jubilee of the college in 1972 and occupies a place of pride on the campus as well as in Chennai. From 1978 onwards there was a shift in the admission policy, keeping in mind the thrust of the college towards social justice. Conscious of the growing need for academic freedom, the college launched into autonomy in 1987; the 1990s saw the college offering several new job-oriented courses as well as additional sections for the departments of B.Com. and mathematics. On the occasion of the Golden Jubilee, the St. Clare's Centre- a four-story building that houses the administrative offices, an audio-visual room, computer laboratories, and several classrooms- was erected. With ten years of experiential learning processes behind it, the college restructured its system of education by introducing a credit-based system in 1997, offering many new academic programmes that encourage interdisciplinary associations. Coaching for the civil services exams was launched in November 2009. The college also conducts coaching classes for both faculty and students who are preparing to appear for the NET and SLET exams.


Departments

*Advanced Zoology and Biotechnology * Bioinformatics *Biotechnology *Business Administration *Chemistry *Commerce *Computer Applications *Economics *English *History & Tourism *Information Technology *International Studies *Languages *Mathematics *Physics *Plant Biology and Plant Biotechnology *Psychology *
Public Relations Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. ...
*Religion and Value Education *Social Work *Sociology *Visual Arts *Vocational Programmes: **Sustainable Energy Management **Food Processing and Quality Control *Diploma Courses: ::Computer Science ::Medical Laboratory Technology


Conservation

As of 2014, the college has undertaken around twelve environmental initiatives including
light-emitting diode A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor device that emits light when current flows through it. Electrons in the semiconductor recombine with electron holes, releasing energy in the form of photons. The color of the light (co ...
cluster lights, solar-powered streetlights, source segregation, vermi-composting, and waste water recycling plant. In January 2014, the college opted for green energy with the installation of a 50-kilo watt roof-top solar power plant on its campus. The plant, installed by Omega Natural Polarity Private Limited at a cost of 5 million, has 200 solar panels and caters to six percent of the total power requirement on the campus, powering lights and fans in the college.


Notable alumni

*
Alarmel Valli Alarmel Valli is a leading Indian classical dancer and choreographer and the foremost exponent of the Pandanallur style in the Indian classical dance form, Bharatanatyam. She is widely acclaimed for her ability to turn traditional grammar in ...
, Indian classical dancer * Anita Coleman, researcher * Anju Bhargava, political operative * Anuradha Menon, Comedian *
Bala Devi Chandrashekar Bala Devi Chandrashekar is a Bharatanatyam dancer and teacher based in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. She was trained under Dr. Padma Subrahmanyam. Bala Devi Chandrashekar is a Professor of practice in Asian performing arts. Her approa ...
, Bharatanatyam dancer *
Brindha Sivakumar Brindha Sivakumar (born c. 1980) is an Indian singer and voice artist who works in Tamil-language films. She is the daughter of actor Sivakumar and the younger sister of actors Suriya and Karthi. Career While Brindha was studying grade 10, ...
, Singer *
Chitra Ramanathan Chitra Ramanathan or Chitra, is an Indian American contemporary visual artist and educator living in the United States, mainly known for her predominantly abstract mixed media paintings. Her body of work visually portrays happiness. Many of th ...
, Contemporary Fine Artist - Painting *
Divya Ajith Kumar Captain Divya Ajith Kumar is an Army Air Defense (AAD) officer in the Indian Army. She graduated from the Officers Training Academy, Chennai. Kumar is the first woman to be conferred by the Army with the Sword of Honour, a prize given to the be ...
, Captain Air Army Defence *
G. Thilakavathi G. Thilakavathi (or Thilagavathi) ( ta, ஜி. திலகவதி) is a police officer and Tamil writer from Tamil Nadu, India. Biography Thilakavathi was born in and completed her schooling in the Dharmapuri district of Tamil Nadu. She ...
IPS IPS, ips, or iPS may refer to: Science and technology Biology and medicine * ''Ips'' (genus), a genus of bark beetle * Induced pluripotent stem cell or iPS cells * Intermittent photic stimulation, a neuroimaging technique * Intraparietal sulcus, ...
, police officer and Tamil writer * Geeta Menon, academic, educator; Dean of
New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...
* Jayalalitha, politician-turned-actress, former
Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu The chief minister of Tamil Nadu is the head of government, chief executive of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. In accordance with the Constitution of India, the Governors of states of India, governor is a state's ''de jure'' head, bu ...
*
Malini Parthasarathy Malini Parthasarathy is an Indian journalist, who was an editor of ''The Hindu'' during 2015–2016, and is currently the chairperson of group's publishing company, THG Publishing Private Limited (formerly part of Kasturi & Sons Limited). Fam ...
, editor, ''
The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It began as a weekly in 1878 and became a daily in 1889. It is one of the Indian newspapers of record and the secon ...
'' *
Lekha Washington Lekha Washington is an Indian actress, artist, and product designer who has predominantly appeared in Tamil and Telugu language films. She was first recognised for her work as a sculptor in 2002 and then as a theatre actress in Chennai based sta ...
, actress *
Manjima Mohan Manjima Mohan is an Indian actress who primarily appears in Malayalam and Tamil films. She started her career as a child artist in Malayalam films. she made her debut as a lead actress with ''Oru Vadakkan Selfie'' (2015) in Malayalam and ''A ...
, Indian Actress, Award winner. *
Preetha Reddy Preetha Reddy is the vice chairperson of Apollo Hospitals, one of the largest healthcare conglomerates of India. In September 2012, she was elected to the board as independent director of medical technology company Medtronic. Early life and ed ...
, managing director of
Apollo Hospitals Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Limited is an Indian multinational healthcare group headquartered in Chennai. Along with the eponymous hospital chain, the company also operates pharmacies, primary care and diagnostic centres, telehealth clinics, ...
* Pushpa Kandaswamy, film producer
Kavithalaya Productions Kavithalayaa Productions is an Indian film production and distribution company based in Chennai. It was founded by filmmaker K. Balachander in 1981. It has a library of 50+ films in three languages and 3500+ hours of television content. Kavitha ...
* Rama Ravi, Carnatic vocalist * Samantha Ruth Prabhu, actress * Savitha Sastry, dancer *
Shweta Mohan Shweta Mohan (born 19 November 1985) is an Indian playback singer. She has received four Filmfare Awards South for Best Female Playback Singer, one Kerala State Film Award and one Tamil Nadu State Film Award. She has recorded more than 700 s ...
, singer *
Sheela Murthy Sheela Murthy (born 12 October 1961) is a lawyer, entrepreneur, and philanthropist, perhaps best known as founder and president of the Owings Mills, Maryland based Murthy Law Firm, which has been ranked as one of the world's leading U.S. immig ...
, U.S. immigration attorney


References

{{Authority control Franciscan universities and colleges Catholic universities and colleges in India Women's universities and colleges in Chennai University of Madras Educational institutions established in 1947 1947 establishments in India Colleges affiliated to University of Madras